Solar for Tempe Homes: SRP Bills and SolarAPP+ Permits
Most Tempe homes buy power from Salt River Project, and a smaller share are on Arizona Public Service. The city runs water, sewer and trash, not electricity. Many rooftop systems here qualify for SolarAPP+, an automated plan review the City of Tempe accepts, so that is where this page starts.
Verix Energy works from Gilbert, a short drive southeast. We handle the consultation and the sale. Licensed, ROC-certified Arizona contractors design and install every system.
Will a Tempe rooftop system qualify for SolarAPP+?
Tempe's Building Safety Division accepts SolarAPP+ designs when a job fits the city's limits. Systems outside SolarAPP+ eligibility go through standard plan review. The contractor makes the call, but these are the lines Tempe draws.
Fits the fast path
A single-family home or duplex inside Tempe city limits, a roof-mounted array, an Arizona licensed contractor, and single-phase service of 400 amps or less. Residential energy storage can be part of the design.
Leaves the fast path
Ground mounts and ballasted racks, the weighted kind often used on flat roofs. Also any home in a Historic Preservation district or a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area.
Design limits
Tempe's SolarAPP+ rules allow two DC strings in parallel and a single module type. Systems outside SolarAPP+ eligibility go through standard plan review.
What happens after a SolarAPP+ approval in Tempe?
A SolarAPP+ approval is not the permit. The contractor still files with the city.
Apply in the Citizen Access Portal
The contractor enters the SolarAPP+ approval number, and the project description has to start with the word SolarAPP+ so it is routed correctly.
Permit, then installation
With the permit issued, a licensed, ROC-certified Arizona crew installs to the approved design.
Building Final inspection
The contractor requests inspection 199. Requests made before midnight are inspected the next business day, between 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Utility permission
Passing the city inspection does not switch anything on. SRP or APS still grants permission to operate.
Tempe holds a SolSmart Silver designation, a national recognition for local solar practices.
Which utility signs off on solar in Tempe?
Usually SRP. Its headquarters is on Mill Avenue, and SRP names Tempe among the cities it serves. Tempe's own resident directory lists APS next to SRP for electricity, though, so a house near a boundary can be the exception. The company that prints your bill runs the interconnection.
Two SRP details tend to surprise people. Accounts on M-Power, SRP's prepay program, come off it when a solar price plan begins, because prepay does not work with customer generation metering. And SRP expects a battery to be charged when its inspector arrives. SRP lists its options on its solar price plan page. We do not quote rates here.
At the APS addresses, APS emails its permission to operate and leaves a door hanger, and the system waits for that notice.
Older Tempe streets, newer Tempe HOAs
Tempe has neighborhoods built decades before 1980, and many of them have no homeowners association. There, the city permit and the utility are the only approvals. Homes inside a historic preservation district are a separate case. They cannot use SolarAPP+, so plan on standard plan review.
Townhome communities and newer subdivisions usually do have an association. Arizona lets it set reasonable placement rules but not ban rooftop solar: ARS 33-1816 covers planned communities, and ARS 33-439 voids deed restrictions that effectively prohibit solar, for documents dated April 17, 1980 or later.
Who does what on a Tempe solar job?
Verix Energy sells and explains. Licensed, ROC-certified Arizona contractors design and install.
Verix Energy, from Gilbert
Reads the bill with you, sorts out SRP or APS and the SolarAPP+ question, and walks you through the proposal. We are a sales company and never install.
The licensed contractor
Designs the array, checks SolarAPP+ eligibility, pulls the Tempe permit, books inspection 199, and files with the utility.
Can a Tempe system include a battery?
Yes, and it does not knock an eligible job off SolarAPP+, since Tempe allows residential storage on that path. Without a battery, grid-tied panels go dark in an outage. Sizing and backup are explained on the battery page.
Service areas
Based in Gilbert, working with homeowners across the East Valley, West Valley and central Phoenix.
Tempe solar questions
What is the best solar company in Tempe?
The right one can answer Tempe's questions, which matters more than any claim to be the best. Ask whether your roof qualifies for SolarAPP+, whether the bill is SRP or APS, and which licensed contractor will do the install, then look that contractor up with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Verix Energy is a sales company in Gilbert. We do not rank competitors or post star ratings.
Is Tempe on SRP or APS?
Mostly SRP, with some APS addresses. The city's resident directory lists both. For a single house, the bill settles it.
Can a flat-roof Tempe home use SolarAPP+?
It depends on the racking. Tempe excludes ballasted systems from SolarAPP+, so a flat-roof design that relies on ballast goes through standard plan review instead.
How quickly does Tempe inspect a solar job?
A Building Final requested before midnight is inspected the next business day, between 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Utility permission to operate comes afterward, on the utility's timeline.
Does Verix Energy install solar in Tempe?
No. Verix Energy consults and sells. A licensed, ROC-certified Arizona contractor designs, permits and installs the system.
Have a Tempe bill handy? Let's read it together.
Call or text 480-406-3127, any day from 8 AM to 8 PM.